Question

Consider the following scenario from the University of Hawaii:

Let's first look at the bulk planting method.
(a) With only being able to plant 1,000 trees at a time (and a 10% survival rate), how many total seedlings would we need to plant to reach 10,000 trees?

Option 1: 1,000 seedlings
Option 2: 10,000 seedlings
Option 3: 100,000 seedlings
Option 4: 110,000 seedlings

Answer 1

To reach 10,000 surviving trees with a 10% survival rate for seedlings, one would need to plant 100,000 seedlings in total. This mathematics problem requires working backwards from the desired outcome, multiplying the number of trees by 10 to account for the 10% survival rate.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to a mathematical scenario where we are tasked with calculating the number of seedlings needed to achieve a desired number of trees given a certain survival rate. The key here is to understand the relationship between the total number of seedlings planted and the percentage that actually survive and grow into trees.

If only 10% of the seedlings survive to become trees and the goal is to have 10,000 surviving trees, we must start from the desired outcome and work backwards to find the initial amount to plant. Since 10% is equivalent to 0.10, we use the formula:

Required seedlings = Desired trees / Survival rate

Thus:

Required seedlings = 10,000 trees / 0.10

Required seedlings = 100,000 seedlings

Therefore, the correct answer is that we would need to plant 100,000 seedlings to expect 10,000 to survive, which corresponds to Option 3: 100,000 seedlings.